Who Says Chickens are color blind?

It came as a real shock to find out that my chickens could tell what colors they were eating.

Some might say my chickens are spoiled. I make it a weekly mission to head to the local grocery store to see what’s available on the reduced produce rack. I can usually find enough organic lettuce and other greens to last several days. My chickens don’t care that the expiration date is near, or has passed. The lettuce is still good and provides some welcome greenery in the dead of winter. The price is right too.

I picked up a package of mixed greens one day. I anxiously brought it home and immediately took a trip out to the chicken house to deliver it. I knew the girls would welcome the treat!

My chickens have their regular gravity-type feeder for their grain, and I have a large plastic dog dish that I use for those special treats.

I emptied the bag of greens into the dog dish and stood back, as I usually do, to watch for a minute. I began to notice that the chickens were eating the green lettuce but were leaving the red leaves. I thought I must be mistaken, but I didn’t have time to find out for sure right then.

When I went back a short time later, the dish was empty except for the red lettuce leaves. The chickens didn’t eat them with the green leaves. It took several hours, but they finally did eat it. I guess if they had their druthers, they’d opt for green leaves only. Red leaves only satisfy in the abscence of green.

This post was submitted by Lynne.